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Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant

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Portrait of a Noblewoman with a Dwarf (c. 1606) by Peter Paul Rubens

Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant is an oil-on-canvas portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, executed circa 1606. The painting has been thought to depict Maria Grimaldi, daughter of Carlo Grimaldi, a marquess who in 1607 loaned his villa at Sampadierna to Rubens and his patron Vincenzo I Gonzaga of Mantua. However, recent comparisons suggest it could more likely represent Maria Serra Pallavicini, wife of Niccolò Pallavicini from the Pallavicini family, as the sitter bears a strong resemblance to the figure in Rubens' Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra Pallavicino, painted around the same time.

The attendant figure, possibly a man with dwarfism, reflects a common custom at Royal courts during that period. The painting is now owned by the National Trust, having been acquired in 1982 as part of the Kingston Lacy property.

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